Winter log

[faithfulsupport]

Who: Everyone!
What: Open Log
When: December
Where: The Hunter's Lodge
Warnings: N/A
Notes: This is a mingle log, so people are free to set up their own TLs under it. So tag in and tag around!


Snow has fallen outside and while it's not heavy it's set just enough down to gently cover the wooden benches and ground outside. The chairs have been removed but the lanterns are still out and lit (as well as the little lights that have been replaced with more festive ones) if people want to walk around outside and have private chats among the snow, the trees and the lighting.


Potluck - Food is all around. Got a story about how the food you brought is part of a long standing family tradition? So much the better! But Ignis for his part has been researching and working on bringing the foods he's heard about. So here you'll find an appetizer platter along with a cream cheese tree, turkey, ham, his version of the Crown City roast, stuffing balls, roasted potatoes and roasted vegetables, and of course a few different desserts.

So you can find him making sure the table is decked out in christmas colours and full of food. But as he sets the last appetizer tree down on the table, he nods. "Quite glad to see that you could make it."


Trim a tree A small group of freshly cut green trees are sitting in a corner with room to go around the back. Simple lights are already in place, but there are ornaments with hooks sitting in silent invitation to decorate the tree and gather around as well as different coloured garland too.

But there's plenty of supplies and being able to decorate a tree with Nida last year was all sorts of fun as it will be again this year. So the advisor is definitely happy that nature can come inside at least temporarily.

Ignis stands back and takes a look at the trees with a satisfied sort of nod. "I suppose after the holiday, I will see about replanting it outside." Turning to his guest, there's an easy smile. "It won't do to simply throw it away do you think?"


Gift exchange - Gifts aren't required, but people are free to do so. This can be as private or as public as wished! The royal strategist is busy arranging gifts under the tree, trying to make some sense as to how they should be grouped, so he's on his knees trying to keep the order straight. As soon as someone approaches, he acknowledges their presence with a smile. "Would you mind handing me that blue wrapped gift sitting on the chair right next to you?"


Wild card- Dancing? Snowball fights outside? Feel free to make up a thing here!

Comments

Mono - OTA

[monochromatically]

Tree Decorating

Mono still avoided the lodge most of the time… But when there was a celebration going on and it was decorated, with more than a few people he knew present, he would venture forth with a little more security. It was a good way for him to get used to the place that shared a similar name with a place in his world where very bad things had happened.

Still… The child couldn’t help but feel like he was more than a little confused. Perhaps even more than the wedding.

Decorating trees?

This was another strange thing that he didn’t quite understand. Trees were outside things! A place for animals like birds and squirrels and other stuff to live in! Why would you bring them indoors? This whole celebration thing was so very odd to Mono, but he was doing his best to learn about it when people talked about it.

Holding up a round, shiny ornament, he looked at his reflection on its surface. “Wow, this is shiny…” he tilted his head one way, then another as he watched himself warp slightly in the rounded reflection. “Still kinda strange… Like it’s pretty, but weird…” He mumbled on to himself as he put the ball down and began looking at other decorations. “And a little familiar…”

Mono thought he might have seen boxes of these in an attic once. Covered in dust and a few of them broken. But they hadn’t really meant anything at the time. Did anyone do things like this in his world before the corruption?

That train of thought was interrupted as he tugged at a strand of garland resting on the floor, blinking a moment later. “Shiny colourful rope? Do you gotta tie up the trees too?”

Playing in the snow. - Take your pick of snowmen or snow forts!

Mono was rather enjoying this snow thing now that he had shoes and warming clothing to wear. He even dared to try some of the interesting games he’d seen other children playing last winter when he arrived!

Snow people were still kind of creepy, in his opinion, but rolling the snow and piling it was still pretty fun. So anyone who happened upon the child would be greeted by the sight of about three to four very strange attempts at it. He even put a couple of hats from the collection that he’d stowed away in his coat on their heads, decorating their faces with rocks, acorns or pine-cones he’d found. The one he was currently working on was still taking shape, only one misshapen snowball finished.

If one were to show up later on in the afternoon, investigation might also reveal that he’d built them in such a way that they guarded another particular construct he’d been working on. A snow fort.

Tree

[areasontohope]

Decorating for christmas wasn't something Yuki had done last year. He'd meant to see about it, but soon after things had gone very wrong and he spent most of his time indoors, trying to focus on something other than being upset and drowning himself in it. He didn't want to go back to the dark places he'd been in his mind and knew he wasn't trapped on the Sohma estate or chained to Akito's side.

Yuki had quite a bit of the food and knew Jacob was here somewhere. So he headed over to the tree to see if he might be able to get some ideas since decorating trees was something the other had mentioned to him as a ritual that had been performed in his world.

He was trying to study it as he got closer but then he happened to see Mono among the decorations looking at his reflection in one of the ornaments. It made him smile and he moved over towards the boy.

"I don't think they tie the trees up, so much as lay the rope around it on the branches."

Snowman!

[faithfulsupport]

Ignis needed to take a minute out from the warmth of the Lodge. He of course had been cooking practically all night and morning to ensure the food was plentiful and delicious. So he decided to just take a moment and go outside and perhaps admire the snow decorated trees.

Going outside, he smiled as a light snow came down softly and he lifted his green eyes upwards. It was such a magical moment whenever snow fell and he couldn't resist feeling slightly childlike at it. He thought to go get Nida and share it with him when his eyes then rested on Mono.

Curiously, Ignis walked over to the boy and looked at the misshapen balls. And he had to smile at the hats and creative acorn and pinecone placements. "Well, what are we building here?"

Playing in the snow

[soulsword]

Considering where Illyana grew up, she was extremely familiar with snow. Yet, for some reason, it stirred some strange feelings inside of her that she couldn't place. Again. Maybe getting her soul back wasn't what she should have done after all. She let out a little sigh as she continued to watch Mono from a safe distance. Memories danced around in her head, memories of her as a little girl which seemed like an entirely different life. A voice in the back of her mind chided her to remember that it was, soul or not she wasn't that Illyana.

Her face scrunched up into a scowl and that meant she needed a distraction. Well, there was Mono right there playing around with an attempt at making snowmen. The idea came fast and well...once she got an idea she usually decided it was a great thing to go fully through with it. She waved her hand and whispered a few words directed at one of the snowmen Mono had already finished.

After a few seconds it shouted, "Happy Birthday!"

Tree

[unbreakable_king]

That Rhy was here for this evening was, in a way, a coincidence. He had no intention of staying very long after all. This sort of thing was not, from his understanding, the sort of way that his husband celebrated winter’s passing. But he had asked Ignis before if it would be okay if he came to pack up a small meal for himself and his husband, and while Rhy waited for the energetic serving man with that Snow White hair to pack that up (which no doubt was already done), he had started to look around.

And of course run into his favorite young man.

“That’s a garland,” Rhy observed as he saw the young man holding the thing up. This was something he did recognize, though not in this specific form. The things were often put up in the palace for celebrations. “I’ve never known them to go on trees.”

Snow Fort

[harrythelizard]

It was, in fact, later in the afternoon when Harry came upon the boy. The minor snowfall reminded Harry of home, and it was with a tug of homesickness in his heart that he went for a walk that afternoon in the first place. Things had been relatively quiet of late and that usually spelled trouble no matter which way you tried to look at something. He liked to think this place wouldn't try something during the holidays, but that usually wasn't the way of it.

His steps slowed as he approached the small regiment of snowmen, though, and he watched them suspiciously, eyes narrowed. His senses didn't suggest he should worry about anything supernatural attacking him, but it still wasn't something you'd see every day.

He cleared his throat before speaking. "Knock, knock? I come in peace."

jacob - ota

[brotherofagod]

Winter Wonderland.

Fluffy puffs of white snow drifted lazily in the air as the wind brushed across the tops of lanterns and trees. Jacob was wandering aimlessly around the outside of the lodge in hopes to get familiar with the area but he kept getting turned around. He was wearing a warm black jacket over top of a button-down he'd purchased a few days before. It wasn't anything fancy but it was the amount of effort Jake was willing to put into dressing up for the holidays.

Light hazel eyes glanced back at the lodge before he dipped a hand into his pocket. The package of cigarettes he'd arrived with was crumbled with time and contained only one remaining stick. He'd have to find a replacement and while he didn't think it was difficult, it was troublesome.

Jake placed the filter between his lips and pulled out a worn black lighter. The flame flickered to life, warm against his palm as he shielded the delicate light. With a practiced touch, he inhaled and the sweet curl of smoke filled his lungs. A sense of calm curled within his chest and his nerves settled as if finally at peace. He was always tense, always plagued with nightmares but the sweet sensual warmth of the smoke filled him easing his tired and tattered soul.

There was no rule saying he couldn't smoke inside but he didn't want to force people to deal with the smell. It wasn't polite. So until he was finished, he'd content himself to wander around outside, making intents in the snow.

He remembered playing in the snow as a child but that felt like a lifetime ago. It didn't feel like he could do that anymore. Even so, it was nice to see others enjoying the cold soft ice.

Cookie Memories.

After talking to a handful of people, Jake had decided to attempt to make Christmas cookies. He didn't care much about the shape but he hoped that the taste wasn't too horrible. At the very least there was the icing on them. That would undoubtedly make them better and cover up his mistakes.

They were also strangely hard when you bit into them.

The cookies were placed on a small plate before Jacob took three that he had turned into circles with strings laced through them. It was a silly tradition but cookies were often decorations on the tree in his home growing up and even if this backfired horribly, he wanted to at least put a few on the trees that Ignis had brought inside.

It was his own little touch to the holidays.

Random.

(Come at me with anything you want.)

Winter

[areasontohope]

Yuki had seen Jacob go outside and figured the man wanted to be alone for a little bit so he helped some of the kids hang some of the ornaments in a more organized manner. He'd seen some people up and dancing to the instrumental music that was playing but didn't have the guts to ask Jacob for a dance. Even still, his gaze seemed to keep returning to the dance floor.

It of course reminded him of the last time he was here which was for the wedding and it made him smile softly as he patiently untangled some of the hooks that had gotten bent out of shape and had the kids take turns hanging their ornaments. So he would occasionally look up at the doors and wonder where Jacob was until another adult stepped in to help the kids out.

Relieved, Yuki thanked them politely and wrapped his long coat around him and grabbed his scarf and gloves. Opening the door as little as he could manage, he slipped out and his gray eyes scanned around. No sign of Jacob anywhere. So he sighed with a quiet determination and wandered around with the wind blowing the snow around only slightly.

It didn't seem to take too long, but he found Jacob as he was lighting up. At first he was confused, but that didn't stop him from approaching. His breath came out in white puffs as he spoke and there was a slight smile on his face. "I wasn't sure if I'd find you out here."

Cookies

[monochromatically]

Mono was still hovering around the trees by this point in the day, watching people decorating them and occasionally trying to take part in himself. So far, he’d figured out that the garland was not meant to be used to tie the trees up, and that these trees were not for climbing… Even if you wanted to put an ornament up higher than you could reach.

Oh, and that this whole tree decorating thing was strange, but fun. So he watched curiously as Jacob started… Hanging cookies on the tree? Yup, the kid was confused again. “Aren’t those for eating?”

Mono was very pro cookies, after the last social event where he’d gotten rather addicted to sugar cookies.

Cookies

[skyward_eyes]

Nida was here. Of course he was here. His husband had set this up, and supporting him on a night like this was something Nida was resolved to do, even if many of the rituals they had read about the year before had been weird for Nida to contemplate. So he moved slowly through the little festivities, nursing one of many glasses of mulled apple cider, and when he spotted Jacob he took the time to split away from a conversation to go see the oldest of his trainees (was he the oldest, Nida wasn’t certain).

“Aren’t cookies for eating?” He asked as he watched Jacob.

Winter Wonderland

[asthecroweflies]

Even so removed from Detroit, Aterat was starting to feel like home, and the white blankness of it all when the snowed began to fall in winter helped it along. The slush in the streets was the same, the soft, muted sounds that came with a fresh blanket of snow. It was all part and parcel of wintertime, and while he was missing the more familiar elements of home, some things remained constant.

It wasn't often business took him out toward the lodge, and it hadn't now, but an afternoon stroll. He was lost in his own thoughts until a scent he hadn't smelled since leaving home reached his nostrils. Frowning for a moment, he looks around for the smoker before his eyes find Jacob. He shoves his gloved hands into the pockets of his pants and turns his attention to the other man.

"You've been here before, haven't you?"

Cookies

[soulsword]

Illyana had spent a lot amount of time debating if she wanted to come or not. Ultimately, she'd gone with at least attempting to make an appearance. After playing a Christmas trick on Mono she made her way inside and wandered around. Her final destination took her to the attempt at cookies that made her tilt her head and smirk.

"Well, well, I suppose I know who made these," she said as she picked one up and turned it over in her hands curiously. "If I die after trying this, I'll know who to curse." And with that she took a bite of the cookie, only to slowly place it back down as she realized just how hard it was.

Aerith || OTA

[cetrary]

A. It Sure is Cold Outside

Okay, maybe wearing her usual clothes with the only difference being the jacket had longer sleeves, wasn't the greatest idea. Actually, it turned out to be a pretty terrible idea. She had the basket hooked around her right arm and she felt weirdly grateful that the food was still a bit warm. A shiver ran down her spine and she rubbed her free hand up and down on the other arm.

"Okay, quickly, Aerith," she muttered to herself. "You didn't quite dress right for this. Gotta get inside fast." Evidently, Aerith thought that she could warm herself up by being positive and psyching herself up. It really wasn't working that great, which meant she was picking up her footing. Which, unfortunately, wasn't that great of a thing to for someone that maybe occasionally was just a tiny bit clumsy. Her footing stumbled and she stumbled and started to fall.

"Oh no!!" she let out a gasp as she tried to correct her footing.

B. Potluck

After how seeing how much food Ignis had made for his wedding Aerith felt the need to bring at least a few things with her this time. Not that she felt like she had to compete (well maybe a little bit) but more so that he deserved a bit of help. It wasn't too much and she wasn't even close to the cook he was, but hey, something is better than nothing, right? Or it's the thought that counts? Either way she brought a few things with her in a large basket. Inside she had two different kinds of buns: curry buns and red bean buns. Honestly, she was pretty sure that they weren't even as good as the ones from Wall Market, but she'd worked hard to make them look good and hopefully taste even better.

She put the basket down in a small open area and smiled a little bit.

"Doesn't look half as good as everything else, but I hope someone will like them!"

C. Wildcard

Anything you wanna do? Feel free to do it here! Aerith will be going back outside (with a better jacket) and mingling around. Consider this my December catchall too since I've failed so much

B

[monochromatically]

Mono was hovering around (and sometimes under) the potluck table. When he wasn’t puzzling over this whole Christmas thing, he was snooping around the table to see what new foods there were to try. After the wedding, he’d decided to try things regardless of if he could tell what they were on sight or not. So when Aerith appeared and sat her basket down, he peered up over the edge of the table at it curiously. “Lots of food doesn’t look as good as other food, but that doesn’t mean it’s not as good. I bet they’re tasty.” He chirped, glancing at Aerith with a little tilt of his head.

What? He’d thought ravioli looked kind of weird and squishy at the wedding, but it had been delicious. Her curry and red bean buns were probably pretty good too!

A

[brotherofagod]

Jacob was walking around the outside of the lodge with a cigarette placed gently between his lips. There was no rule about smoking inside the lodge but Jake couldn't shake the thought that it was rude. So as long as he was smoking, he was going to be wandering around the outside of the lodge.

It was then that he spotted the splash of brown hair against the cool white snow. "Hey." He stepped forward, offering a hand to help steady Aerith's steps. "You okay?" He looked down at her attire and dug into his pockets to pull out his gloves. He couldn't wear them while smoking so he'd taken them off. "Here. If you're chilly you can have these." He wasn't going to use them.

Jake wasn't heavily dressed but he had a heavy black jacket over a comfortable button down with a scarf. He'd probably have been cold if he wasn't used to living in Maine.

C

[areasontohope]

He saw Aerith out of the corner of his eye, but at the moment, he was busy trying to wrap that garland stuff around his arm so that he could help a few kids with it. The thing was that they wanted it on the tree. However, they weren't anywhere near tall enough to reach the top. Yuki wasn't either but he found a little step stool ladder and would use that to help him get to the top.

So he finally got it all wrapped (or so he hoped) and approached Aerith.

He gestured with his grey head towards the tree. "Do they decorate trees where you're from, too?"

A

[mostlycloudy]

The snows reminded him of his childhood in the mountains, and that memory alone was an aching thing, though he couldn't remember why. Maybe all this time here, and in Midgar with all that had happened had left him homesick. Growing up in the mountains made him a little better at preparing for the weather, though, in his thick pants, boots, and heavy jacket.

He looked up at the sound of her voice, a small smile teasing his lips as she gave herself a peptalk. That's right, he probably only remembers life in Midgar, where the seasons never changed, at least not under the plate. And then she stumbled and he was at her side, catching her before she could fall and saving her basket with his other hand.

"Hey, be careful!"

Ivy }} OTA

[neurotoxicity]

1. Arrival through the snow

Ivy wasn't particularly good at socializing as of late. Though, it was perhaps a bit debatable whether or not there was ever a time she was particularly good at socializing. It was basically a Christmas miracle that she'd come at all. A few times as she made her way there she made the excuse that she just wanted to dress up and make use of her large black winter coat that she'd gotten. There may have been other reasons beyond that, but she would be hard pressed to admit those reasons. Maybe it was a bit because she was lonely. Maybe. Mostly. It was definitely because she was a tiny bit lonely. She missed Rachel, she missed Kist, and she missed her sister. She even missed Piscary, but that was twisted and she didn't want to think about that. Perhaps, that had been a large reason she'd decided to come. When that thought came there was an immediate desire to hunt and she couldn't do that. Not again. This seemed like a good place to go for something that may distract her.

She had her hands in the pockets of the jacket as she walked through the snow. Her head was down and she was barely playing attention to the people throwing snowballs and playing as she headed inside. Maybe she actually should have been paying attention.

2. ...attempt at mingling?

Despite her intentions being to find a distraction she really didn't actually try to find a distraction. Ivy was mostly keeping to the sidelines of everything, seemingly more interested in watching people than interacting with them. She even went so far as to wait to put the small dish she'd brought with her for the potluck until she didn't see people around. What she'd brought with her was odd for a holiday potluck, but it tied back around to how much she was strangely missing certain people in her life. It was a surprisingly well made, and delicious, pizza. She set it down a bit awkwardly and then quickly tried to walk back away into watching mode without even getting any food for herself.

Unfortunately for her the escape is cut short by bumping into someone. "Ah, apologies," she said a bit stiffly. "I should have been paying attention."

3. Trim a tree

The tree managed to actually draw Ivy's real interest. She had some gifts for people, but she hadn't brought them here to put under a tree. That was something she'd keep for a private occasion. More than likely she'd just have them delivered to keep things from being even slightly awkward. That didn't stop her from admiring the tree though and then, hesitantly, approaching the ornaments. After picking one up she looked it over in her hands with a slightly sad looking smile as she put it up onto the tree.

"Mmm, no, not there," she said as she took it back down and looked up at the tree with an expression as if she were trying to solve complex equations.

4. Wildcard

I've sucked this month so if there's anything at all else you'd like to do feel free to do it here!

Tree

[faithfulsupport]

Ignis was making his rounds, trying to make sure everyone had a bite to eat or something similar. Of course he didn't flat out ask that sort of a thing, because he would simply smile and ask a question or two which would inevitably lead to the topic of food.

He knew how to socialize of course since he had prepared for the court that Noctis would've eventually had. And he knew when to speak up for the rather soft spoken king, especially when it was asked of him to gain entrance to Altissia, even if he playfully threw it back at him.

But he saw the snow falling and since no conversation was pressing, he went over to see Ivy standing there in front of the tree with an ornament in her hand, paused. So he stood at a polite and respectful distance because crowding someone wasn't his thing. And as he looked around the room, he waited patiently to see if she would put the ornament on the tree.

"Anywhere you place it will be fine."

Mingling

[skyward_eyes]

Really, he needn’t have let her bump into him. Nida was quick on his feet, he had seen her moving to escape her movement of putting food at the table, and clearly the woman had been skirting the edges of the gathering for a while. It would have been simple enough in his awareness of Ivy to side step and let the woman escape ‘unnoticed’. But Ignis and Nida had read much of this Earth winter custom, and it was about welcome and community and many other things. And Nida didn’t think he should let the woman be truly alone here.

So the letting himself be in position to possibly be bumped into, and the soft smile waving off her stiff apology.

“It’s alright. My fault as well,” he admitted, and it truly was honest. “I see you brought pizza. I thank you for that. It’s a lovely food and I don’t get it nearly enough.”

Tommy - OTA

[doubled_speed]

1. Food For All

Christmas had never really meant much to Tommy, before or after his time with the Kaplans. So this little gathering, it didn’t mean too much to him either. But still, the boss man needed some help, and there had been deliveries to do to the Lodge as well so that people could have their gathering, and why not stay after that for food?

And what a wealth of food it was too. The most recently added to the table for the potluck was a large pot of Tommy’s own cooking, something he’d done in the kitchen. Chicken paprikash, the way Wanda had taught him how to make it, in a nice big pot that smelled like spending time with his mom. Tommy even took a moment to sneak himself a small serving.

Only to pause when he noticed someone looking his way.

“Uh, I hope it tastes good. I’m still learning to make it on my own.”


2. Meet The Sloth

Tommy hadn’t come alone, either. He had settled at a table near a fireplace because he needed it for his companion for the evening. A table had been lifted up onto the table and climbing over the struts of that chair was a baby sloth. Speedy was busy hanging off the thing with three legs and using his fourth to clutch a stick of celery and munching on it.

“Little spoiled brat,” Tommy smiled at the sloth, reaching out to stroke its back.

Meet the Sloth!!

[monochromatically]

Mono had been in and out of the lodge all day. Trying to figure out this Christmas thing, then needing a break from figuring out Christmas to play in the snow, then back in for snacks... It was a cycle.

But he eventually had spotted his boss settled at a table, with a hair on top of it? Mono had wanted to say hello a few times, but he knew Tommy also worked at the lodge as well as the delivery service, so he hadn’t wanted to get in the way of that.

But now seemed like a good opportunity to say hello!

But then, as he got closer to the table, he realized why there was a chair on it. What a strange (but adorable looking) creature, just hanging out there. He stared for a moment, forgetting to say hello before he raised a hand to wave. “Hello, Tommy!” He turned his attention to the celery munching creature, unable to contain the question that immediately followed. “... Is that Speedy??

1

[garrrr]

Gar's never had a lot of opportunities for Christmas but once he had he'd really grown fond of it and it meant a lot of him. It meant even more to him that he was there and Tommy was there. As Tommy started to sneak a taste Gar chuckles and he moves to get himself a taste as well.

"You learn quickly usually."

Lauri-Ell - OTA

[kree_soldieress]

1. Tree Trimming?
Plants. Lauri-Ell had more than enough reason back home to be suspicious of trees just being in places they didn’t belong, and the whole evil plants attack here hadn’t helped either. So seeing the things inside, with people focusing on them made her… nervous. In fact Lauri was currently standing a few feet from one tree that had garland already started on it and was frowning.

“That binding does not seem to be enough to restrain the tree should it choose to lash out at us.”

2. Freebie Gifts For All
While Lauri didn’t know much of this human holiday or the customs associated with it, when she had heard of what it was supposed to be like, she had beamed and packed up the many little creations she had made at the forge for herself that Gili had said she could keep and give to people. So she settled them down by the tree, placing down a box labeled ‘Take One You Like’. Inside there was all sorts of iron work, from candle holders, cloak pins, and key chains.

“Hopefully people will have uses for these.”

Gifting Time [Closed to Ignis]

[skyward_eyes]

"Blue, huh?" Nida answered as he reached over for the item and passed it to his lover. "It's a nice soft shade."

Nida was careful as he considered the thing, waiting for his husband to take it.

[faithfulsupport]

"Blue is a nice soft colour. It rather reminds me of a few of the decorations we had last year on the tree."

Ignis took the gift and managed to locate the presents he had for Nida. Of course those had gone under the tree first. And it was just as he'd told Llewellyn at their meeting at the house, Nida made the season as magical as people here seemed to make it.

And of course he was nothing but grateful as always for his husband's presence in his life. The strategist couldn't even think of a life without him by his side.